Homily on the Sunday of the Blind Man*
By Righteous Alexei Mechev
By Righteous Alexei Mechev
“And Jesus, as He passed by, saw a man blind from birth” (John 9:1).
Thus begins the Gospel, telling of the miracle of the Lord's healing of the man blind from birth. Of course, this unfortunate man was not the only one on the Lord's path. At that time, with the lack of care and shelter, the suffering and sick of various kinds usually gathered in the squares, along the roads, at the doors of the Temple, where more people gathered and where they could find more sympathy and help. But of all these unfortunates, the man blind from birth attracted the attention and mercy of the Lord, and moreover on the Sabbath day, a day of rest, when the violation of the lawful rest was allowed for him. Then the very way of performing the miracle is remarkable: the Lord, having mixed spittle with mud and anointed his eyes, tells the blind man to go to the revered well, called Siloam. His eyes have not yet opened, but the encouraged blind man feels the awakened strength, movement, labor. Finally, the Gospel describes in detail the trial that took place over the blind man regarding the healing and contrasts the clear, true, and convinced speech of the blind man with the intricacies, pretensions, bias, and false interpretation of the scribes and Pharisees. You listen and marvel, as if you see how this blind man is gradually reborn, he is given physical sight, and then he shows such strength of spirit, such sound and wise reasoning, that he became higher than those who were called teachers of the people. It seems to us that the Lord, through the whole story of this miracle, had the goal of changing people's views on the blind and, in general, on the unfortunate of all kinds. After all, there are many unfortunates, but only a few are given the ability to perform miracles, and not everyone can be healed. But to encourage the unfortunate, to awaken spiritual strength in him, to help him, despite his illness, to live, work and be useful - this is what the unfortunate, possessed by blindness, deafness, and dumbness, can expect from us.
Let us go into some details of the Gospel narrative. In what situation did the Lord see the man born blind? He was “sitting and begging” (John 9:8). Every day he went out and begged: this was his misfortune. We do not mention that, having no sight, the unfortunate man did not see the light, could not enjoy the beauty of the world, did not hear a friendly (word), his soul was fading, life had frozen, there was no hope - he only knew how to beg, he uttered a plaintive: “give” - and, receiving, asked again. And this is what stopped the Lord over the blind man: pity for his soul - forgotten, lost, humiliated, turned into one plaintive song. How did the healing begin? “And Jesus said to him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam ... So he went and washed, and came and saw” (John 9:7). The Lord does not yet heal the blind man, but awakens movement, commands him to seek a way out of his miserable situation, to test his strength; gives him work and labor that would show him that he can live and be capable of something. The Gospel does not say that he was led to the well - he explains himself: "I went, washed, and began to see" (John 9:11). The Lord's sympathy alone, the strange anointing of his eyes with mud, this encouraging voice, this command that infuses hope, makes the blind man seem to forget his misfortune and feel the first tremor of life returning.
I must tell you that the Pool of Siloam was not a simple well, but the water in it flowed from the mountain on which the Temple and all its sanctuary stood, and which therefore enjoyed sacred respect, and going there, the blind man involuntarily remembered the sanctuary, the God present there, the prayer that was offered there daily for the people. The soul revived, faith shone, life felt easier.
What change took place in the blind man after his healing? Oh, he is no longer the same who sat and begged: listen to how he speaks at the trial. He knew that among the Jews, the enemies of the Lord, it was customary to exclude from society anyone who recognized Him as Christ; and in spite of this, he firmly explains the truth, how Jesus healed him. Further, while there was a strife of opinions between the scribes and lawyers about the Lord, the blind man confidently tells them: this is a prophet. In vain do they want to confuse him with a new question, in vain do they persuade him to acknowledge Jesus as a sinner. The blind man speaks even louder, even more convincingly: “If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing” (John 9:33). Finally, when the Lord, seeing him again, asked: “Do you believe in the Son of God?” and told him who He was, he, completely imbued with this deep faith, cried out: “I believe, Lord” (John 9:35–38), and fell at His feet!
You see how the Lord's gracious help and His mercy brought new life to the blind man. He became a believer, capable of work, useful to himself and others.
Can this miracle of the Lord's healing of a blind man serve as an example for us to follow?
We are not given the supreme power to heal the blind, but we, following the example of the Lord, can do much to ease the unfortunate lot of the blind. How can one not pity a poor little one, doomed from early childhood by blindness to poverty, humiliation, deprivation of all joys? How can one not grieve at the sight of an adult blind person, led by someone else's hand, with general health and strength helpless, powerless? How can one not mourn a blind old man who has become a burden to himself and others. In Holy Rus' we have always shown special compassion to the unfortunate blind: they were given more generous alms, their plaintive song brought tears, they were willingly given shelter for rest. But our time has done more. It turned its attention to the spiritual side of the blind man, it saw in the blind man a person who can not only ask and sing plaintively, but can think, can believe and pray, can work, can have his own joys, can feel the value of life, can even in blindness become in the position of a sighted person.
Notes:
* Delivered on the 6th Sunday after Pascha, before the Revolution. Year unknown. Published for the first time from the “Speech Plans” from the archive of E. V. Apushkina, a spiritual daughter of Righteous Alexei.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
